LIV GOLF HONG KONG

March 6, 2026

Carlos Ortiz

Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling

Torque GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome back to the media center Carlos Ortiz, Torque GC. 4-under 64, currently tied at the top of the leaderboard. A little bit different round today from yesterday. Please take us through how your day went.

CARLOS ORTIZ: It was kind of a rough start. I wasn't in position a lot in the first few holes. Had to scramble. I made a few bogeys. But honestly, I'm just trying to get good reps. My swing has changed a little bit and the feels have changed. I'm just getting really comfortable with the new swing. It's also I'm getting a little bit uncomfortable to feel how it's holding, and it's actually holding pretty good.

Q. How did you feel about the conditions of the course? I don't know if the wind picked up today versus yesterday, and heading into the weekend, expectations of it to change at all?

CARLOS ORTIZ: I think it played very similar. I think it's still very soft. I honestly don't know what the weather is looking like tomorrow, but it was beautiful weather today.

Q. Carlos, obviously you've got the one win in Houston and have been knocking on the door quite a number of times. When you go into a weekend and you're tied for the lead, is there something -- do you get a little extra juice than you would maybe if you were kind of hanging around top 10, 10th or 15th or something like that?

CARLOS ORTIZ: Yeah, you feel it maybe more on the first tee, but still, it's Friday. We have two more days. So much golf to play. I think when it really matters, the back nine. If you have a chance to win on the back nine on Sunday, I think that's when you start feeling it. Other than that, you're just trying to place yourself to be in that position coming on Sunday.

Q. I did want to ask you about the team element this week. You guys had a really strong season when you won four times, but really other than that season you've only won once as a team. Have you guys talked about entering this year how important it is to kind of get back into a bit of that dominant mode that you guys showed?

CARLOS ORTIZ: I mean, we're all trying to play good golf. I don't think anybody is -- last year was just the situation we were on. I think with Abe this year, I think we have a lot more chance to be competing every week. It's not something we just talk -- obviously we want to win every week, but we all have to play good golf.

Q. Carlos, a lot of your damage this week has come with the short irons and wedges. On a soft and shorter golf course like this, how important is it to manage your spin control, and how much of that is what you've been working on with your iron swings?

CARLOS ORTIZ: I mean, I think it's very important on this golf course, especially with the way the greens are playing, to control the spin. I'm not particularly working on that, but the swing allows me to hit different kinds of shots, and some of those are off pace where I can just throw them and there's not going to be much spin, it's just going to land and stay there. Pretty much every ball with every club you land it on the green, and it stays pretty much between two, three yards from where it lands.

It's playing different from other years where you had some release. So I think people are taking advantage of that.

Q. Just on playing with Dean, obviously he kind of was hot on your heels. Just talk about this last 18 and especially the last nine coming in when he was kind of hot. Did you feel any pressure?

CARLOS ORTIZ: I love Dean. Dean is awesome. It's actually very cool watching him hit the ball. He hits it a long ways, and he's hitting it beautiful. He's hitting these beautiful draws. I really enjoy watching him play good golf. We're good friends, and it's awesome to play with a good friend.

I think we've got a tee time again tomorrow from the first tee playing together, so it'll be good to play with a good friend.

Q. What's your mindset now going into the weekend?

CARLOS ORTIZ: Same as every day. Just trying to hit it in the less strokes possible into the hole. Golf is unpredictable, so we're just trying to somehow get it into the hole.

Q. You said you have some changes on your swing. What are the changes?

CARLOS ORTIZ: Without getting too technical, I'm just trying to be more centered and hit the ball with less side spin, just hit more straight shots. I'm working to be more -- these changes are going to help me to be more consistent, and I'm definitely seeing it in the way the ball reacts. Obviously I still have to get comfortable. It's very different. The ball flights are a little bit different. Sometimes it catches me off guard, especially here that they're putting the pins close to the edges. But it's also, that's what you want. You want to be uncomfortable so you can test if it actually works or not, and it works. I just have to step up and hit the shots.